Mix the flours and seasonings in a wide bowl. Rub with 2-3 tbsp. oil till crumbly texture. Then slowly add the spinach puree and knead into soft dough.

Using a shev press with thin shev disc, insert the dough into the press and drop the sev into medium hot oil in circular motion. Fry in batches, couple minutes each side. Drain on paper towel. When shev cools, crumble with hands and store in air tight container.

Mawa burfi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxHsY4COVdM

Fruit Pie Rangoli

I used a base of graham crackers. Topped it with a mixture of cream cheese (8 oz pack thawed), lemon curd (about 3-4 tbsp.), 1 tub of cool whip gently folded in and few drops of vanilla essence. Spread this as evenly as possible on the base. Then top with fruits of choice.

Thursday, September 29, 2016

This recipe is adapted from Sanjeev Kapoor's website. Not only is it made without onion and garlic, but best part is this is a great way to sneak in dudhi (lauki) and lal bhopla (red pumpkin) which may not always be appreciated otherwise.

Here's how I make this Spinach Kofta curry:

For the koftas - Mix together boiled, peeled mashed potatoes, grated paneer and chopped spinach in equal proportion. If using frozen spinach, be sure to thaw it and drain out the water. You can also add some finely chopped veggies if desired like green beans and carrots. Add seasonings to taste - salt, red chilli pwd, dhana-jira pwd, ginger paste, little sugar and chat masala. Mix well and add little corn flour to bind it together so you can form kofta balls. Deep fry, drain and set aside.

Heat the ghee in a thick bottom kadai. Add rava and saffron. Roast on low heat for 15-20 mins, stirring frequently, till fragrant. Add the pineapple puree, mix well, cover and cook on low for 5 mins. Then add sugar, mix well again and cover and cook another 5 mins. In the meanwhile heat little ghee in small pan, fry the cashews till golden, fry the raisins till they plump up. Add these to the sheera along with the cardamom pwd. Mix well and serve.

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

This is an ideal snack/mini meal for the summer months. Here's how I make dahi vada:

Wash and soak 1/2 cup udad dal and 2 tbsp. mung dal in water for atleast 4 hours. Then drain and grind with very little water to make a smooth paste. Take the paste in a big mixing bowl and add salt, little ginger paste and black pepper pwd. Whisk well for 5 minutes.

At this point if you drop a blob of the paste in a bowl of water, it should immediately float up. This means the batter is light and airy and well whisked.

Heat oil to deep fry the vadas. And keep a big bowl of thin buttermilk ready. Add a little salt and red chilli pwd to the buttermilk. Drop spoonful of batter in the oil and fry on medium heat till golden brown. Drain and immediately put the vadas in the buttermilk. Fry all the vadas similarly in small batches.

To serve - whisk cold yogurt (I like to use Fage) with salt and sugar till smooth. Put the vadas in the serving bowl. Top generously with the yogurt. Sprinkle some red chilli pwd and cumin pwd. Add a dash of green mint chutney and dates-tamarind chutney. Finally garnish with chopped cilantro. You can also add little shev on top. Serve immediately.

Thursday, June 23, 2016

This is a fairly easy and quick snack to put together, especially when you use canned beet and potato flakes like I do.

Start with a can of sliced beets (not the pickled variety). Drain and put in mixing bowl. To this add a cup of potato flakes, salt to taste, 1 tsp of ginger paste, 1 tsp red chilli pwd, 1 tsp cumin pwd, handful of chopped cilantro, and 1 tsp chaat masala pwd. Mix well. Shape as desired. Pop in the freezer for about an hour. You can make and keep in freezer for use when you have unexpected company.

To fry - in a bowl take 1 tbsp. plain flour mixed with water to make thin paste. In another plate take bread crumbs. Dip each tikki first in the flour mix, then in the bread crumbs and shallow fry on pan with a tsp of oil till golden brown on each side.

Tuesday, June 21, 2016

This salad is a great way to highlight the beautiful color of purple cabbage. I took 1/2 head of a small purple cabbage and thinly shredded it. Then I steamed it for just 5 minutes in the pressure cooker with the whistle off. I am not a fan of raw cabbage, hence steam it. Then I added other veggies like cucumbers, tomatoes, onions/green onions, colored peppers. I tempered the salad with cumin seeds and hing in ghee. Topped it all off with crushed roasted peanuts, chopped cilantro, salt, pinch of sugar and black pepper powder.

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Puff pastry sheets come in handy for quick snacks/appetizers and are so versatile. I recently found a cute way to use these. The sheet is thawed, cut into about 8-10 circles, filled and folded to resemble petals or feathers.

In the picture below, I used some leftover pasta sauce, added oregano, garlic salt, seasoning mix and shredded mozzarella cheese. Smeared this mix on the puff pastry rounds and arranged them to resemble bird's feathers. I topped each with an olive. With a little more fine-tuning, this would make a cute thanksgiving vegetarian turkey I think.

For the body of the bird, I used larger squares of puff pastry and stuffed them with jalapeno (ends cut, deseeded and deveined) filled with cream cheese (I used garden veggie and added garlic salt and seasoning mix). Make sure the cheese is room temperature.

Bake the puff pastry per package directions.

Puff pastry bird

Puff pastry vegetarian turkey

jalapeno peppers with cream cheese

For New Years eve party, I used similar pasta sauce as above and arranged the petals in flower shape.

About Me

Ever since I started cooking, the kitchen is the one place where I feel totally in command...hence the blog name.
I'd like this blog to be a one-stop shop for all my favorite recipes...and hopefully you will like some of them too. Thanks for stopping by.